John Herring, owner of Stamps Auto centers in Arizona knows that cars need regular maintenance and explains this to his customers. The first thing that is done to all cars that come into his shops is a maintenance check, even if the car initially comes in for something simple like an oil change. With the hot summers in Arizona, one of the main things that should be checked is the car’s coolant system. His technicians always check to make sure that the coolant ratio (water to antifreeze) is correct; many times people have added plain water to their antifreeze overflow trying to save a little money on antifreeze. Unfortunately, when the system runs plain water without enough antifreeze, the water corrodes and rusts the aluminum from the inside out damaging the system and potentially causing the car to overheat.
Overheating can be especially dangerous in the heat of the Arizona summer. Herring offers tips on how to maintain and prepare cars and trucks for the hot Arizona summer. He suggests:
Check your tire pressure on a regular basis and make sure that they are not too low.
You can find out what your tire pressure should be from the car’s manual and sometimes from the side of the tires themselves where it is written. He explains, having low tire pressure can cause side wall wear or even worse, a blowout. You don’t want to be stuck with a flat on the side of the road in the Arizona heat.
Make sure that the radiator is getting the right air flow.
When Stamps Auto does a maintenance check on a car, one of the things they look for is to make sure that there is no debris blocking air flow to the radiator. In the extreme heat of the Arizona summer, it is important that the car has all the cooling capability that it has.
Avoid long idling situations to keep your car cooler.
Herring says, “Try to avoid long idling situations where possible to keep the car’s engine cooler. This will also help the air conditioning system in keeping the car’s interior cool during the heat of the day.”
Stamps Auto has grown to five locations in Arizona, one in Queen Creek, two in Gilbert, one in San Tan Valley, and one in Mesa. Herring started out as a young boy playing at his father’s and grandfather’s feet and grew up around cars. He originally went to school for auto body repair, while familiar with auto repair due to his childhood, he wanted to do something different than fix cars in his family’s auto repair business. After years working in auto body repair, he started Stamps Auto with a friend. Later, he bought out his partner and became the solo owner. He went on to expand the business, buying existing auto repair locations and turning them into his own. Having 28 employees to run his five shops, they have all become like an extended family for him.
Herring explains, “Part of being a responsible business owner is providing good benefits and insurance for my employees and their families. Stamps Auto provides health insurance, Aflac and 401K options for employees which is not true of every auto care center. He adds, “Happy employees equals happy customers. Our employees are the ones who see and speak with our customers. They are out there building the long term relationship with our customers that we value so much and I want to take care of them. That is important to me, running a business with good values that treats people right.”
Herring believes strongly in treating his customers with honesty and focused his business model for Stamps Auto on building long term relationships with each customer. Herring is a fourth generation mechanic and auto-related business owner in his family. He’s carrying on the tradition by having his two sons Jacob (19) and Justin (18) work in the family business and learn the trade from him. Jacob and Justin are currently working in a machine shop using some tools and machinery that used be Herring’s grandfathers.
For more information about John Herring and Stamps Auto locations in Arizona please visit: http://www.stampsautomotive.com.